Finnigan LCQ Deca XP
(Acquired in 2001)
The LCQ Deca XP is an electrospray ionization/ion trap mass spectrometer. A sample can be introduced by direct infusion using a syringe pump, by flow injection using a injection valve and an LC pump, or by LC fitted with a column (LC/MS). The LCQ is equipped with the Xcalibur software suite that permits simultaneous acquisition of mass spectral data and photodiode array (PDA) data. The capability of on-line MS^n allows structural characterization of the separated components.
The biggest advantage of the ion trap is its ability to perform multiple stages of mass spectrometry. Up to 10 stages (MS^10) can be performed using an ion trap, greatly increasing the amount of structural information obtainable for a given molecule. This capability can be very powerful in structure elucidation of metabolites, natural products, and sugars.
Within Xcalibur, we can perform deconvolution and interpretation of multiply charged mass spectral data of biopolymers, such as peptides and oligonucleotides. Using the SEQUEST software, uninterpreted sequential mass spectra (MS/MS) of peptides can be cross-correlated with the theoretical, expected spectra of amino acid sequences contained in protein databases or nucleotide databases in FASTA format. SEQUEST can identify the amino acid subsequence of a known protein from the mass spectrum being analyzed.
The LCQ is the primary instrument for LC/MS and LC/MSMS (DDA) in ESI or APCI.
